The Way Back
by Doublemint
Summary: SHOUNEN-AI This year, Jack's determined to find out more about the village that he lives in. However, some things that he finds out may not be quite what he expected...JackGray?
1. Lost

A/N - A BTN fic. Its shounen-ai, too, so if that bothers you, just press the back button and pretend you never got this far. If you don't know what shounen-ai is, its male/male romance. The pairings gonna be...well, it should be fairly obvious if you read, so I won't really bother saying it now. Also, I do intend for this story to have a real plot. There's going to probably be some other pairings, too, but the main one is really the most important so that's all I'm going to say.  
  
Also, No flames, please. If something bothers you, even something other than the shounen-ai-ness of the story, then either put it into a nice constructive, helpful review, or don't say anything at all, right? My low self-esteem can't take it. But, do review me! It makes me happy.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon: Back to Nature, or any of the Harvest Moon series, so don't sue me! I'll only put this disclaimer in this first chapter.  
  
*L*o*s*t*  
  
Snow fell, pretty white flakes landing lightly on the frozen earth. Everything was dusted in white; old footprints littered the deserted footpath. If thick gray clouds hadn't hid the sky from view, the sun would've just behind the treetops. And it was freezing; it hadn't been this cold all winter. All the animals had taken shelter, and the shops and houses in the village had all been boarded up.  
  
Jack trudged up the mountain, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. It was really cold - although he was wearing heavier clothes than usual, he still wasn't anywhere near dressed for the weather. He shivered, tucking his head down to save his stinging eyes from the bitter wind.  
  
He had ignored Gotz's warning about the blizzard. Koro was lost and he was determined to find him. The puppy wouldn't last in weather like this. Although, Jack was beginning to think that *he* wouldn't last in weather like this, either. The winds had picked up and it was getting harder to see through the snowflakes.  
  
Still, he had made it this far and he wasn't about to turn back now. Not when his dog needed him.  
  
Jack scowled. *Hopefully* his dog needed him. The dumb thing had probably made it back already, and was curled up in his nice, warm doghouse - but Jack wasn't going back until he was sure. Koro would certainly die if he was wrong.  
  
He looked up. The hot spa was steaming a little. He didn't want to go in and warm up, though - he was sure that once he got out the water would freeze on him before he made it back to the farm, and he didn't even have a towel. Jack walked on, turning the corner.  
  
A particularly nasty wind nearly knocked him off his feet. He slid a little.  
  
"Damn..."Just then, Jack saw a flash of gold in the corner of his eye. He froze, turning and looking in all directions.  
  
"Koro! Koro!" He heard a bark. That was it - it was Koro - but where *was* he?  
  
Jack trudged over to where he thought the noise had come from. The snow had gotten deeper, and it was harder to move.  
  
"Koro - c'mere - oh - speak, boy!" Jack tried, shouting out any commands he thought might help. The dog barked again and he turned. *There*. Jack rushed forward, kneeling down next to the frightened puppy.  
  
Koro was half buried in snow, cowering behind a leafless bush. Upon closer inspection, Jack found that the puppy's collar had gotten caught on a branch. He worked to unfasten it - his hands, numb with cold, fumbled for a while with the clasp before finally managing to undo it.  
  
Koro shook with fear and cold as Jack took him into his arms - once standing, Jack looked around.  
  
There was no one there at all. The whole mountain was deserted, and he doubted that he would be able to make it all the way back home.  
  
"What are we gonna do now, you stupid dog?" Jack said, tucking the dog beneath his sweater. The dog whined in response, as if knowing that his master was insulting them.  
  
"It's all your fault, you know? I should've left you on the mountain, you useless piece of -"Jack froze in mid-sentence, something having occurred to him. There was that cave across the lake. He could take shelter there until the storm calmed down. It would still be cold, but at least there was no wind and snow inside there...  
  
He hurried forward, making his way as best he could across the frozen lake, slipping once or twice. He was *really* freezing, now. Hopefully the cave would be a little warmer. He would've collected firewood or something, but he had no idea how to start a fire without matches, and he was pretty sure that everything would be completely damp by now.  
  
He reached the entrance to the cave and sighed in relief. The wind was gone, the snow was gone - he was still freezing, but this at least was an improvement.  
  
He started to sit, and then noticed something. There was a ladder in the middle of the ground, and - a head - poking out of the earth. He blinked, as the head moved up, and then revealed a neck - shoulders -  
  
His cold-numbed mind only just understood that there was someone here already, and that person was turning towards him, having pulled himself completely out of the hole.  
  
"Jack?" it was Gray, his usual blue cap on the floor. Jack blinked again, a confused look coating his features. Gray...what was he doing here? It wasn't the last place Jack expected him to be, but on a day like today, he'd be at home. Or better, Jack thought bitterly, with Mary, in the library.  
  
"G-gray." His voice was a little hoarse, his teeth chattering slightly, making it hard to speak.  
  
"Hey - how'd you get here? The weather's really bad - are you okay?" Gray stepped forward, his red-blond hair falling in front of his eyes. Jack's heart fluttered at the sight of those beautiful, clear blue eyes. He let go of Koro, watching as the dog wagged his tail happily at the other youth, all of his energy apparently regained.  
  
"Yeah - it's really cold...what're you doing here?" Jack asked, allowing himself to sit, relaxing and leaning his back against the cave wall. Gray looked a little concerned, but didn't answer Jack's question.  
  
"I'm okay. I was outside a little too long, I think." Jack managed a short laugh, grinning reassuringly at Gray.  
  
"Here." Gray took off his coat and gave it to Jack, still looking concerned.  
  
"You'll be cold." Jack frowned, but took the jacket anyway, feeling a little better once it was on.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Gray asked, standing up again.  
  
"Koro got lost," said Jack, gesturing to the puppy, who was trying hard to gain Gray's attention, "And I had to go looking for him."  
  
"You didn't think to bring a jacket?" Gray raised an eyebrow at him. Jack's cheeks heated up, and he averted his eyes. Gray thought he was stupid.  
  
"I kinda rushed out as soon as I realized Koro was missing. I didn't know there would be a storm." Jack looked up, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Mining." Gray blushed. It was Jack's turn to raise an eyebrow.  
  
"In this weather?" Gray scowled at him.  
  
"Whatever. We're stuck here, so just be quiet, okay?" He turned and climbed back down the ladder, disappearing from sight. Seconds after, angry noises of the pick hitting the frozen ground could be heard.  
  
Jack sighed, leaning back. Now he had made Gray angry. Well, what was he doing that he was so embarrassed about? Mining did seem plausible, but Gray's blush made him think that there was more to it. And why had he gotten angry so fast, anyway?  
  
He was really beginning to warm up, though. The jacket Gray had given him was fur-lined, already warmed by the fact that Gray had been wearing it.  
  
He didn't know the guy that well, actually. He saw him every time he went to get a tool upgraded and once or twice in the library, but that was it. He wished he knew him better.  
  
He had, at first, just been curious about Gray - why he always seemed so unfriendly. He seemed like he could be a nice guy once you got to know him. It was just; he wouldn't let anyone get to know him. He always ran away if you asked him something or said something like, "sorry."  
  
And then, when Jack had started finding him attractive, he became more inclined to stay away from Gray. Of course, he wanted to be near him...but he also didn't want to scare him away. It would be better, he had decided, if he never knew him at all, then if Gray found out and hated him. There was something about the beautiful blue-eyed youth that made Jack crave his attention - he *wanted* Gray to think well of him.  
  
Jack let another sigh escape from his lips before he drifted off to sleep, his tired body finally succumbing to the exhaustion he had felt all day.  
  
***  
  
Jack woke up to sunlight and a pleasant, warm feeling on the left side of his ear. It took him a while to realize where he was, and as soon as he did, his face turned bright red.  
  
It was nothing more than him leaning on Gray's shoulder, but it made him blush nonetheless. He had fallen asleep and he supposed that at some point, Gray had come back and apparently gone to sleep beside him.  
  
It was his personality that made him make such a big deal out of these little things, he supposed.  
  
"Hey." Jack looked up, straightened up, and blinked at Gray. Koro was curled in a ball on his lap.  
  
"It stopped snowing," Jack said, noticing the sunlight streaming in from the cave entrance. He stretched.  
  
"What did you dream about?" Gray asked, causing Jack to freeze, mid- stretch.  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"What'd you dream about?" Gray repeated, his face expressionless. Jack noticed that his cap was on again, but not so that it hid most of his face like it usually did.  
  
"Dream...about...?"Jack's face, if possible, turned even redder, because he had just remembered exactly what it was he had dreamt about.  
  
"Ehehe...I can't really remember."  
  
"Really?" Gray stood up, moving to collect his pick and bag, "'cause you were saying some really weird stuff while you were sleeping."  
  
"No kidding? Well, you know how these things are..." Jack laughed nervously, standing up himself. "Wow, you're talking much more than you usually do, you know? You usually don't say anything to me at all." He walked quickly over to the cave entrance, wanting very much to get away from Gray - which was pretty unusual, for him.  
  
"Wow, I feel so much better, now, with that night of sleep," said Jack, shivering and proving himself wrong. Truly, having not eaten anything since yesterday morning, combined with cold and sleeping on the ground, was making him feel quite nauseous. It was sort of like being in the airport after a long plane ride, except worse.  
  
"You don't look so good..." Gray stepped behind him, nervously. Jack spun around, backing up as fast as he could.  
  
"Are you kidding me? I feel great -" he fell over, his feet slipping on the icy lake, and passed out.  
  
A/N - Well? Bad, Good? Review, tell me if I should continue! Helpful comments? Anything? ...Review me! 


	2. Dive

A/N - Phew, my updates really aren't supposed to take this long. Sorry! I don't even know how good this chapter really is...I don't like it as much as the first one.  
  
Hmm..oh well, read and enjoy (hopefully) anyway.  
  
Oh, and thanks for the reviews!! I was so happy! Replies to a few are at the end of the chapter....the mistakes I made from earlier are fixed now. (Unless I missed some...I *think* I fixed them) ::smiles::  
  
D-i-v-e  
  
The air felt cool and fresh on Jack's face as he left the clinic, a smile on his face. It had been three days since he had passed out on the top of the mountain, and it felt good to be on his feet again.  
  
Elli had, of course, told him to take it easy, but he wasn't about to follow her instructions. His farm, for all he knew, had been neglected for the past few days, and although he had asked the harvest sprites to take care of it for him, there was still going to be a lot of work left over for him.  
  
Jack nearly skipped down the path, just barely restraining himself. As a child, he had hated keeping still, and not much had changed since then. His last day in the clinic had been spent awake and bored out of his skull as Elli lectured him about pacing himself and not going out in the cold without proper clothing ("You nearly died! What if Gray hadn't been there? What if the clinic had been closed?")  
  
A blush tinged Jack's cheeks as he thought about Gray. Apparently, he had carried him all the way down the mountain, *and* brought his dog back...speaking of Koro, where was he, anyway?  
  
"Jack!" As he passed the poultry farm, Popuri's voice shook him out of his reverie. He turned, seeing the pink-haired girl running towards him.  
  
"Hi!" he grinned broadly at her.  
  
"You're all right! We were all so worried! Mom especially..." she said, smiling back at him. Jack usually visited the poultry farm every day to buy chicken feed. During these visits, he usually spent a while talking to Lillia. She and Jack had gotten very close.  
  
"You didn't have to. I wasn't *so* bad."  
  
"Yes you were," Popuri said, "Gray passed right by our farm on his way to the clinic, and you looked really bad! And there was this big lump on your head...what happened, anyway?"  
  
"Koro got lost. I went out to look for him, but then on our way back, I slipped and I guess I must've hit my head. By the way, do you know what happened to Koro? Did you see him?" He asked, worried again about his dog. He really did have a soft spot for animals.  
  
"He was tagging along behind you guys, last I saw. Gray looked really annoyed at him." Popuri made a face, "I don't think he really likes animals that much...he might still have your dog, though. You might want to check there, if he's not at the farm," said Popuri, thoughtfully. Jack frowned. If he and Gray ever got together, they'd have to work on that.  
  
What if the reason he didn't like Jack was because he had so many animals? Nah, Jack thought, Gray was completely straight, as far he knew. He doubted that Gray's dislike of animals had anything to do with it.  
  
He shook his head, dismissing the thoughts.  
  
"What?" asked Popuri.  
  
"Oh.nothing. I gotta check on my farm now. I'll talk to you later."  
  
"Bye!" she waved as he retreated. Jack smiled, seeing the gate to his farm. Hopefully Koro wouldn't be there and he'd have to check at the blacksmith's.no, but he didn't *want* to see him. Gray was probably angry with him, too, for causing so much trouble.  
  
The farm was still covered in snow, but it looked pretty good. Jack headed over to the barn first, sliding the doors open. Spot mooed at him. He sighed in relief. Everything looked fine. He moved on, past the horse stables (Snowflake was sleeping) and checked on the chickens. One of the eggs had hatched, and a little fluffy yellow chick was wandering around. Jack named it Sunshine, and then went outside again.  
  
"Koro!" he called. No dog. His heart sank and rose at the same time. This meant seeing Gray...which was good, but then.he also just wanted to avoid him.  
  
Jack forced his feet to move, heading purposefully through the snowy fields and back towards the farm entrance. All the while he was mentally preparing himself, telling his brain that seeing Gray was *good*...and why couldn't the blacksmith be farther away?  
  
He reached it too soon, steeled myself, and entered. Gray was the only one there, working attentively on something. As soon as Jack entered, he looked up, blushed, and shoved it hastily to the side. Jack raised both eyebrows, surprised.  
  
"Hi..." Jack said. Gray straightened, pulling his cap down. Jack wondered how he didn't get warm with it on all the time, and constantly working by the fire.  
  
"Jack," he said.  
  
"Um..." Jack said, growing uncomfortable, "I just wanted to, um, know, if you had seen my dog..." Jack scratched his head uncomfortably. Gray frowned at the mention at Koro, and stood up.  
  
"In the other room," he said. Jack paused, remembering Saibara telling him to never enter the room.  
  
"It's okay. You can go get him." He said, seeing my questioning look.  
  
Jack opened the door apprehensively, and as soon as it was opened halfway, a golden ball of fur came hurtling out at him, yapping enthusiastically. He tried, in vain, to hold the little thing away from his face, which it was currently covering in wet, slobbery kisses.  
  
Jack managed to subdue him eventually and turned, grinning.  
  
"Thanks for taking care of him," he smiled. Gray just stared. Jack grinned more broadly, then waved.  
  
"Bye..."  
  
And he was out. He dropped Koro, heaving a big sigh of relief.  
  
"He's really gorgeous, you know?" Jack commented happily to the dog. He sighed again.  
  
Jack heard a noise behind him. He whirled, his eyes widening in horror.  
  
"You forgot this," Gray said, his expression unreadable. Jack was frozen, shocked. He had *heard* him? Oh, God, what would he think? What did he think?  
  
He held Koro's collar out to me. Koro barked. Still, Jack was unable to move. He had heard him. He knew.  
  
He hated him.  
  
Gray dropped the collar by Jack's feet, and went back inside. Jack squeezed his eyes shut, his ears roaring.  
  
Why hadn't he said anything? He must've heard; there was no way he could've missed that. That, and the dream Jack had been having in the cave...  
  
"You dropped something." He looked up to see Cliff. He bent down and picked up the collar, handing it to Jack.  
  
"What's up? You look really messed up.I heard from Popuri that you got out of the clinic okay...but, you don't really look okay."  
  
Jack was silent. Cliff continued merrily, "I always thought Elli was the type to really keep you there until you were better...guess not."  
  
Jack shook his head weakly.  
  
"No? Yeah, I know. They really should take better care of their patients there. Although when I was there, it seemed pretty good. That happened in the wintertime, too, didn't it? What's with all the accidents happening in the wintertime?" Cliff went on. Jack shook his head again, this time managing to open his mouth and talk.  
  
"I'm okay, really. Um...I gotta go back to the farm...see ya..." he mumbled. Cliff looked concerned.  
  
"Wanna go for a drink later tonight? You look like you need it."  
  
"Some other time? Bye." He turned, and ran. Koro yipped and bounded along behind him, concerned that he was leaving him again.  
  
_ _ _  
  
The next morning, when Jack woke up, he felt terrible. He tried to recall his happiness from the day before. It was a sunny day, the birds were chirping outside his door.but he didn't notice any of it.  
  
"Uughh..." he groaned. He yanked the heavy quilt off of him. It was...warm. Today was the first of spring.  
  
Stupid spring. There was no way he was going to the spring goddess festival today. Jack wasn't about to get within a mile radius of Gray, not for a *long* time. Stupid sunshine.  
  
Koro barked.  
  
Stupid dog.  
  
Jack dragged himself out of bed, shoving his cap onto his head (he had neglected to change last night) and headed for the door. He didn't feel like eating; Jack figured that today he would just feed all the animals and then weed for the rest of the day.  
  
Work took his mind off of the problem; after he had weeded nearly half the field, he decided to take a break and take Snowflake out for a bit.  
  
Jack clipped the lead onto her halter. As they exited the stable, she tossed her head and whinnied happily. He grinned. Animals really helped him forget all of his problems. Well, nearly.  
  
He let Snowflake graze and sat down underneath the apple tree, surveying his work. He had gotten a lot done.  
  
Jack sighed. Normally, he would've been enjoying himself at the festival. Last year he had taken Popuri, because Kai was only there for her during the summer time. Jack wondered who she had gone with this year. Elli had gone with the doctor, as usual. Cliff and Ann always went together, as did Rick and Karen...Jack buried his face in his hands as his mind once again flew to Gray.  
  
He was jealous, as usual, every time he thought of him with Mary, but this time his embarrassment completely overpowered his usual feelings.  
  
("He's really gorgeous, you know?") ("You forgot this.")  
  
Snowflake whinnied. Jack looked up to see a figure approach.  
  
--- A/N - replies to some reviews...  
  
KiT-Girl: Thanks for the tip on Mary - I don't have my BTN game with me right now and I had completely forgotten her name. I make a lot of mistakes ^_^  
  
Inari K: I think that you're talking about HM 64. BTN, I think, has basically same characters, but they have slightly different roles. I'm pretty sure their personalities are the same, though (I've never played the N64 version...I've only read fanfics from it). I'm glad you like the pairing, though. I've only ever found one Jack/Gray pairing and Gray's so cute! Hee.  
  
If I made any more mistakes, please correct me. My BTN game is still missing, and I'm doing it all from memory, really. Oh, and about this chapter...I wrote it all in the first person first...then realized my mistake and fixed it all. So if there's a me or something stuck in there, that's why.  
  
Thanks to the other reviewers! I will try and update faster now.  
  
Leave some more reviews, now! (Is never happy.) 


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